System and method for reproducing works of authorship

ABSTRACT

In a method for reproducing an original copy of a work of authorship, processing information received from a data input device relating to authentication of the original copy of the work of authorship, identifying information in a database corresponding to the information received from the data input device, determining whether an authorization for reproduction of the work of authorship should be granted, and if authorization is granted, reproducing the work of authorship.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional ApplicationSerial No. 60/367,300, filed Mar. 25, 2002.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention relates to a business method for shifting,changing, reproducing and exchanging the physical embodiments of(copyrighted and uncopyrighted) works of authorship, including, forexample, musical works, photographic works, cinematographic and videoworks, multimedia works, software works. More particularly, the businessmethod according to the present invention provides for generating arevenue stream from the transfer or reproduction of a work from a firstphysical medium to or in a second physical medium, that can be the same,similar to or different than the first physical medium, and/or fromissuing risk protection to the purchasers of a work in a physicalmedium.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The continual movement and development of technology has affectedmany businesses as well as consumers. As technology develops, productsand older technologies become outdated, outmoded, obsolete and phasedout over time. Often older technologies become unsupported due to thelack of availability of products for implementing or utilizing thosetechnologies and/or with respect to the availability of replacementparts for the products. For example, in the 1970s 8-Track music playerswere very popular and many consumers purchased 8-Track players and8-Track tapes. By the mid-1980s virtually all sources of 8-Track tapes(except for the used market) had vanished and no companies weremanufacturing or selling 8-Track players any longer. However, manyconsumers who had collections of 8-Track tapes were left with norecourse upon breakage or damage to their 8-Track players. Thoseconsumers had no recourse but to purchase entirely new music collectionsor, if lucky enough, to transfer their 8-Track collections to adifferent format, such as cassette tape prior to damage to their 8-Trackplayers. The extinction of the media formats for works of authorship,for example, 8-Track, and other formats placed and places an unfairburden on consumers who have already paid for certain rights in the workof authorship contained in or on the purchased medium. The consumerpurchasing a work of authorship, irrespective of the type of medium, hasalready paid for many rights, including, for example, artist royalties,producer royalties, writer royalties, and mechanical royalties and forthe record company marketing costs. Upon obsolescence of a particularmedium or technology, such as, for example, 8-Track, the consumer afterpaying for all of the rights, including those relating to copyrights, isleft with a copy of the work in or on a particular medium for which theconsumer paid, but no method for accessing that work. The same is truein other situations where there may be no issues of obsolescence. Forexample, with respect to a copy of a work where the medium is damagedand the consumer has no way of properly accessing the work or accessingthe work in its undamaged state or unadulterated manner, there should bea way for the owner to access the work. Also, in the situation where theowner purchases a new media device, such as, for example, a MP3 player,or wishes to utilize or have access to the work in a different format ordifferent location other than the original copy or the original medium,such as, for example, on a computer, PDA or other portable or stationarydevice, the owner should be able to utilize or access the work.Additionally, where a consumer wants to create a backup copy of a workfor archival purposes, while the costs for CD or DVD burners havedecreased over time, there is still the need for a computer, which manypeople do not have, to allow reproductions of CDs or DVDs.

[0004] Since the rights holders in works of authorship have a legitimateinterest in ensuring that they are properly remunerated by parties thatdesire to have access to their works, it is important that any copyingor reproducing of such works or authorship be accomplished legitimatelyand only for allowable purposes, such as archival/backup of the originalcopy of the work, for purposes of time shifting or for purposes ofhaving unfettered access to the work, e.g., in a different format, forexample copying from CD to cassette.

[0005] However, once the medium in which a work is stored is damagedthere is no method for transferring the work to the same or differenttype of medium so as to preserve the copy or embodiment of the workpurchased by the consumer. Additionally, there is no method for allowingthe consumer access to the purchased work, while ensuring that therights holders' interests in the works are adequately protected, forexample, by receiving compensation for access to their works.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] The present invention provides a business method for ensuringthat after damage to or obsolescence of the medium in which a work ofauthorship is stored, after a decision is made to utilize a differentmedium to store or access the work, where a backup copy of a work isdesired or for any other reason, the work can be reproduced in or on thesame or different type of medium, thereby allowing access to the work bythe purchaser without having to repay for the same rights that havealready been paid for. The present invention also provides a businessmethod for allowing reproduction of a copy of a work of authorship whileensuring that the prior existence of a copy of the work of authorship isbeing verified or that a copy of the work of authorship has previouslybeen obtained from an authorized source, thereby ensuring that theholders of rights in the work have been previously compensated for thework. The present invention also provides a system and method forreproducing or transferring a work of authorship in or onto a differentmedium and preventing access to the original medium after suchreproduction. The present invention also provides a business method forfinancially securing or safeguarding, or hedging against risk of damageor loss of copies of works of authorship, and particularly copies ofworks of authorship stored on CDs, DVDs, Videos, cassettes and otherstorage media.

[0007] The business method, and the system and method according to thepresent invention allow a party that has purchased a copy of a work ofauthorship, for example, a music recording, such as a CD, to replace orcreate an additional copy of the work, for example, when it becomesdamaged, when the party wishes to have access to the work of authorshipin or on a different medium, for backup purposes or for any otherreason. For example, if a consumer purchases a CD and a few months laterthe CD becomes damaged, for example, it becomes scratched, prior to thisinvention, the consumer would have to purchase a new copy of the CD,repaying for all of the rights previously paid for, including writerroyalties, artist royalties, mechanical royalties, etc. According to thepresent invention, the consumer may obtain a reproduction copy of thework on CD either at the time of purchase or at a later point in timefor a reduced cost which would reflect the previously paid for rights.This can be accomplished at the time of purchase or later beascertaining that the consumer either purchased the work of authorshipor currently has a copy, for example, a CD, of the work of authorship.Although the original copy is damaged, the same work of authorship canbe reproduced either through the use of a high quality system that isable to reproduce the work from the original medium and remove or bypassthe damages, or by copying from an undamaged copy of the same work ofauthorship.

[0008] The business method, and the system and method according to thepresent invention may provide for verification that the consumer has acopy of the work of authorship. This can be accomplished through the useof a manual or automatic verifier, such as, for example, in the case ofa CD, a CD player that can read the coding on the CD to determinewhether the CD is a legitimate copy, what songs are on the CD (theartist and album) and when and by whom the CD was manufactured.Additionally, new types of coding, including, for example, digital,electronic, visual, audio, etc., may be placed on CDs to identifyvarious types of information and to ensure that the copy is legitimate.

[0009] Alternatively and/or additionally, the consumer may present,manually or automatically, information verifying that the copy waslegitimately obtained, including, for example, purchase verification,via receipt, smart card, etc. Such verification along with presentationof the original copy of the work would provide the necessary informationto allow reproduction of the work.

[0010] In certain situations, as a way of preventing a consumer fromretaining the original copy of the work of authorship or obtaining morethan one copy of the work of authorship to replace the damaged copy,further access to the work on the original copy would need to beprevented. This could be accomplished, for example, by placing anelectronic or manual block on the copy, by placing coding on the copythat indicates that it has already been replaced or by destroying orconfiscating the original copy of the work of authorship.

[0011] The original copy may be destroyed, for example, by passing it toa device after copying and/or verification that crushes, scratches,melts or otherwise permanently interferes with access by a consumer tothe work embodied within or on that medium, or access to the work may beprevented by a blocking mechanism, such as, for example, passwordprotection, coding, encryption, etc.

[0012] The reproduction of the work of authorship can be accomplishedusing the same medium that stored the original copy of the work orauthorship. For example, if the original copy of the work of authorshipwas embodied on a compact disc, the reproduction can also be embodied ona compact disc. This can be achieved by copying the work onto or into atemporary storage device (RAM) or computer memory and downloading fromthe RAM or computer memory onto a compact disc. Alternatively, the workmay be transferred directly from one compact disc to the other or storedin a temporary location for transfer to a different compact disc. Thework may also be transferred from a database containing a copy of thework or from another copy of the work.

[0013] The reproduction of the work of authorship may be accomplished byusing a different medium than used to store the original copy of thework of authorship. For example, if the original work of authorship wasembodied on a phonorecord, the reproduction can be embodied on a compactdisc. This can be achieved by copying the work onto or into a temporarystorage device (RAM) or computer memory and downloading from the RAM orcomputer memory onto a compact disc. Alternatively, the work may betransferred directly from the phonorecord to the compact disc or storedin a temporary location for transfer to the compact disc.

[0014] In situations where the original medium in which the work ofauthorship is damaged such that the work of authorship is unaccessible,for example, scratched, warped, melted or cracked, in place oftransferring the work of authorship directly (or indirectly) from theoriginal medium to a second medium (the same or different), the work ofauthorship may be reproduced or copied from a different copy of the workof authorship obtained from an identical medium and stored, for example,in a database or in computer memory, or it may be reproduced or copiedfrom a different copy of the work of authorship stored, for example, ina local or remote database, or downloaded via the Internet from thepublisher or from some other source.

[0015] The reproduction of a work of authorship may be accomplishedutilizing a system comprising a microprocessor or some other controlleror control device, a data reader or reading device, such as, forexample, a CD player, a DVD player, a cassette player, a phonograph, ora VCR, etc., a data recorder or recording device, such as, for example,a CD-RW drive, DVD-RW drive, cassette recorder, or a software programfor recording digitally to a memory device, such as, for example, a RAM,a PROM, EEPROM, SmartMedia Card, Compact Media Card, or flash memory,and a destruction or access blocking device, such as, for example, acrushing or scratching device, or a coding or encryption device.. Thesystem may also comprise a storage device (temporary or long term), suchas, for example, RAM, ROM, hard drive, optical drive, tape drive, CD,DVD, cassette, flash memory, etc, and/or a data input device, such as,for example, a keyboard, scanner, bar code reader, smart card reader,biometric device, or any other device for entering information about atransaction or customer.

[0016] Information relating to each transaction, including, for example,information relating to the work of authorship, the customer, temporalinformation and financial information, may be stored in memory or may besent to a local or remote storage location (as close as, for example, aseparate memory device in the same black-box or a different portion ofthe same memory). This information may be used for later verificationfor allowing a reproduction of a work of authorship or for purposes ofmarketing/promotion/advertising. The system may require the customer toview information or respond to queries during the time that thereproduction is being accomplished, in exchange for a reduced fee or nofee for the reproduction, or in exchange for permitting use of thesystem. The information stored on the original medium, the new mediumand/or memory, including historical information, information relating tothe work of authorship, data regarding viewed information, and collectedinformation may be transferred or transmitted immediately to a remotelocation or may be stored for later transfer or transmission.Additionally, this information may be transferred to the owner of thework of authorship or the owner of the rights in the work of authorshipin exchange for the right to reproduce the work of authorship.

[0017] The business method, and the system and method according to thepresent invention can be accomplished by verifying that the medium beingdelivered to the system for reproduction includes an authentic copy ofthe work of authorship or that a copy of the work of authorship waspurchased by the customer. Upon verification the work may be reproducedon the same or a different medium either using the copy embodied on theoriginal medium, or using a copy obtained from a different medium. Uponreproduction of the work of authorship, the original medium may bedestroyed or access may be blocked (temporarily or permanently).

[0018] The new embodiment of the work of authorship may be labeled orimprinted with the relevant information regarding the work. For amusical work this may include, for example, the title of the work, thewriter, the performer, the publisher, length, etc. Alternatively, labelsmay be prepared which can be affixed to the embodiment of the work ofauthorship. The new embodiment of the work of authorship may also bedispensed with a case, and inserts that identify the work. For example,for an embodiment of the work of authorship on CD, there may be insertsprinted for the work that include all or some of the information asincluded in CDs that are sold in retail establishments. These CDembodiments may be dispensed in the same type of jewel case used for CDssold in retail establishments. In the case of backup copies, the workcould be sealed in shrink wrap for extra protection, and there would beno need for the inserts or same type of packaging used for the originalcopy, although purchase of such packaging could be an additional optionoffered to the customer. The customer would pay an additional fee forthe backup copy, that could be a reduced amount compared to the fee forthe original copy.

[0019] The method according to the present invention for financiallysecuring or safeguarding copies of works of authorship, and particularlycopies of works of authorship stored on CDs, DVDs, Videos, cassettes andother storage media may be accomplished by providing for an additionalpayment by the purchaser at the time of purchasing the copy of the workof authorship. This payment is used to remunerate the author of the workand the owner of the original embodiment of the work from which theoriginal reproductions were made, or to provide cover for the riskundertaken by the supplier of the copy of the work of authorship. Thisremuneration allows the owner of the rights to provide an additional orreplacement copy or the right for the purchaser to make a copy of thesame work for a lower price than originally obtained or paid, as aresult of the need for payment for fewer than all of the rightsoriginally paid for. The availability of cover allows the supplier ofthe copy of the work of authorship to hedge, protect or insure against aloss resulting from the obligation to provide a replacement copy of thework of authorship, and allows the purchaser to hedge or cover againstthe risk of damage or loss. The amounts that would be charged thepurchaser may be calculated based on actuarial tables or statisticalinformation relating to the numbers of copies of works of authorshipthat are damaged compared to the total purchases, or some otherstatistical information, including the number of purchasers that wouldbe likely to take advantage of such a risk protection program. The coveror insurance may be available to cover a predetermined period of time oran indefinite period of time so long as certain purchase information isprovided, or it may be always available so long as the copy of the workof authorship is returned with the claim for remuneration orreplacement. In essence this business method would be a damage and/orloss insurance for the copy of the work of authorship. This could be,for example, scratch insurance for CDs or DVDs, erasure insurance forVideos or cassettes, and warping insurance for LPs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020]FIG. 1 shows a system for reproducing a work of authorshipaccording to a first embodiment of the present invention.

[0021]FIG. 2 shows a method for reproducing a work of authorshipaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0022]FIG. 3 shows a system for reproducing a work of authorshipaccording to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[0023]FIG. 4 shows a method for reproducing a work of authorshipaccording to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[0024]FIG. 5 shows a system for reproducing a work of authorshipaccording to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[0025]FIG. 6 shows a method for reproducing a work of authorshipaccording to the third embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] A first embodiment according to the present invention is shown inFIG. 1, which depicts a compact disc (CD) reproduction system where awork of authorship is reproduced on the same medium. The system includesa central processing unit 1 that controls the formatting and copying ofa work of authorship from an original medium 2 to a new medium 3. Thecentral processing unit 1 is coupled to a digital data reading drive 4,for example, a CD drive, that reads information stored on the originalmedium 2 on which the work of authorship is stored, for example a CD.The information stored on the original medium 2 may include or uponpurchase be modified to include the date and location of purchase,vendor information, purchase price, artist and writer information, albumname, song list, publishing information, purchaser information, etc. Thecentral processing unit 1 is also coupled to a digital data writingdrive 6, for example, a CD-RW drive, and it controls the copying of thework of authorship from the digital data reading drive 4 to the digitaldata writing drive 6. Alternatively or additionally, the system mayinclude a memory 7 for storing or buffering the digital data comprisingthe work of authorship during and/or prior to reproduction of the workof authorship by copying from the original medium 2 located in thedigital data reading drive 4 to the new medium 3 located in the digitaldata writing drive 6. The memory 7 may also store the information readfrom the original medium 2.

[0027] In this first embodiment according to the present invention thework of authorship is reproduced on the same media type as the originalmedium 2, a CD. Along with the work of authorship, additionalinformation may be transferred to the new medium 3, including all of theinformation included on the original medium 2. Additionally, newinformation may be added to the new medium 3, including informationrelating to the date of reproduction, price paid, customer information,vendor information, quality of original medium 2, status of originalmedium 2, etc.

[0028] The system also includes a media destruction device 8 or anaccess blocking device 10 which prevents use of the original medium 2upon reproduction of the work of authorship on the new medium 3 bydestroying the original medium 2 or blocking access to the work ofauthorship contained on the original medium 2.

[0029] The system may also include a printer 12 or labeler 14, coupledto the central processing unit 1, for imprinting the new medium 3 with,or creating labels to be attached to the new medium 3 that include,information relating to the work of authorship. This information mayinclude artist and writer information, album and song information,publisher information, etc. The printer 12 may also print inserts, whichmay include information relating to the work of authorship, to beincluded in a storage case 16 dispensed with, and which is used tostore, the new medium 3.

[0030] The system may include a database 18 that stores informationrelating to each transaction, i.e., reproduction of a work ofauthorship, including customer information, work of authorshipinformation, location and temporal information, etc., and/or maytransmit such information to a local or remote location 20 or depository22 (as close as a different adjacent computer or room, or even adifferent memory device located in the same black-box or a differentsection of the same memory device).

[0031] The method according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention is shown in the flow diagram of FIG. 2. In step 50, thecustomer places the original medium 2, a CD, in the digital data readingdevice 4. In step 52, the information is read from the original medium2, and in step 54, is stored in the memory 7. In step 56, theinformation from the original medium 2 is checked to determine thenature of the work of authorship. The information stored on the originalmedium 2 may also be checked for authenticity, for date of purchase,purchaser information or for purposes of verification. For example, thesystem may only be operable for the original purchaser of thatembodiment of the work of authorship. Alternatively or additionally, thesystem may only be operable where the purchase price is greater than apredetermined amount or the reproduction fee may vary depending upon theoriginal purchase price.

[0032] Alternatively or additionally, the system may include a steprequiring the customer to view information or respond to queries, or maycollect information from the customer during the reproduction process inexchange for the right to reproduce the work of authorship or for areduction in or elimination of the cost for reproduction of the work ofauthorship. The information stored in memory 7 and/or the collectedinformation or data regarding the viewed information or responses to thequeries may be transferred to the local or remote location 20 ordepository 22 immediately or stored for a later transfer. Theinformation stored in memory 7 and/or the collected information may alsobe provided to the owner of the work of authorship or the owner of therights to the work of authorship in exchange for the right to reproducethe work of authorship.

[0033] The system may include an additional step of collection of a feefrom the customer either before, during or after the reproductionprocess. The fee may be collected in cash, electronically, using acredit or debit card, or some other method of payment.

[0034] Upon verification of the information on the original medium 2, instep 58, the system copies the work of authorship from the originalmedium 2 to the new medium 3 located in the digital data writing device6. In step 60, the original medium 2 is transferred to the mediadestruction device 8 or the access blocking device 10, where theoriginal medium 2 is destroyed or access to the work of authorship onthe original medium 2 is blocked. The destruction may be accomplished bybreaking, crushing, scratching, melting, burning, sanding, pitting,cracking or any other method of destruction. Blocking access to the workof authorship may be accomplished by retaining the original medium orsealing the original medium in an impenetrable medium or in a medium theremoval of which would cause the destruction of or damage to theoriginal medium 2, or by encrypting the data on the original medium 2 orby overlaying or inserting a password protection mechanism into theoriginal medium 2.

[0035] In step 62, the system transfers the new medium 3 to a printer 12where the information stored in memory 7, i.e., regarding the work ofauthorship, including artist, writer, album, publisher and songinformation, is imprinted onto the new medium 3. An insert including thesame and/or additional information may also be printed by the printer 12and placed into a storage case 16. In step 64, the new medium 3 isinserted into the storage case 16 and dispensed to the customer.

[0036] A second embodiment according to the present invention is shownin FIG. 3, which depicts a phonorecord to compact disc (CD) reproductionsystem where the original work of authorship is reproduced on adifferent medium. The numbering for the similar components will remainthe same. The system includes a central processing unit 1 that controlsthe formatting and copying of a work of authorship from an originalmedium 80 to a new medium 3. The central processing unit 1 is coupled toan analog reading device 82, for example, a phonograph, that reads thedata stored on the original medium 80 on which the work of authorship isstored, for example an LP. The central processing unit 1 is also coupledto a digital data writing drive 6, for example, a CD-RW drive, and itcontrols the copying of the work of authorship from the original medium80 using the analog reading device 82 to the new medium 3 using thedigital data writing drive 6. An analog to digital converter 84 iscoupled to the analog reading device 82, the digital data writing drive6 and the central processing unit 1, and is used to convert the analogdata from the original medium 80 to digital data to be stored on the newmedium 3. The data read from the original medium 80 may be analyzed toidentify the work of authorship and/or to determine whether it is anauthentic copy of the work of authorship or for other verificationpurposes. The system, using text recognition software, may also read theinformation contained on the label of the original medium 80 (forpurposes of verification), covert it into digital data and store thatinformation as digital data in a memory 7. Such information may includeartist and writer information, album name, song list, publishinginformation, etc. Alternatively or additionally, the system may store orbuffer the digital data comprising the work of authorship in memory 7during and/or prior to reproduction of the work of authorship by copyingfrom the original medium 80 located in the analog data reading device 82to the new medium 3 located in the digital data writing drive 6. Thememory 7 may also store the information read from the original medium80.

[0037] In this second embodiment according to the present invention thework of authorship is reproduced on a different media type than theoriginal medium 80. Along with the work of authorship, additionalinformation may be transferred to the new medium 3, including all of theinformation included on the label of the original medium 80, after it isconverted into digital data. Additionally, new information may be addedto the new medium 3, including information relating to the date ofreproduction, price paid, customer information, vendor information,quality of original medium 80, status of original medium 80, etc.

[0038] The system also includes a media destruction device 8 or accessprevention device 86 which prevents use of the original medium 80 uponreproduction of the work of authorship on the new medium 3 by destroyingthe original medium 80 or preventing access to the work of authorshipcontained on the original medium 80.

[0039] The system may also include a printer 12 or labeler 14, coupledto the central processing unit 1, for imprinting the new medium 3 with,or creating labels to be attached to the new medium 3 that include,information relating to the work of authorship. This information mayinclude artist and writer information, album and song information,publisher information, etc. The printer 12 may also print inserts, whichmay include information relating to the work of authorship, to beincluded in a storage case 16 dispensed with, and which is used tostore, the new medium 3.

[0040] The system may include a database 18 that stores informationrelating to each transaction, i.e., reproduction of a work ofauthorship, including customer information, work of authorshipinformation, location and temporal information, etc., and/or maytransmit such information to a local or remote location 20 or depository22 (as close as a different adjacent computer or room, or even adifferent memory device located in the same black-box or a differentsection of the same memory device).

[0041] The method according to the second embodiment of the presentinvention is shown in the flow diagram of FIG. 4. In step 100, thecustomer places the original medium 80, an LP, in the analog datareading device 82. In step 102, the data is read from the originalmedium 80, in step 104, the analog data is converted from analog todigital, and in step 105, the digital data is stored in the memory 7. Instep 106, the data from the original medium 80 is checked to determinethe nature of the work of authorship. The information included on thelabel of the original medium 80 may also be read using text recognitionsoftware and analyzed for purposes of identification of the work ofauthorship, and verifying information relating to the work ofauthorship. For example, the system may only be operable for embodimentsoriginating from the U.S., or only from particular sources.

[0042] Alternatively or additionally, the system may include a steprequiring the customer to view information or respond to queries, or maycollect information from the customer during the reproduction process inexchange for the right to reproduce the work of authorship or for areduction in or elimination of the cost for reproduction of the work ofauthorship. The information stored in memory 7 and/or the collectedinformation or data regarding the viewed information or responses to thequeries may be transferred to the local or remote location 20 ordepository 22 immediately or stored for a later transfer. Theinformation stored in memory 7 and/or the collected information may alsobe provided to the owner of the work of authorship or the owner of therights to the work of authorship in exchange for the right to reproducethe work of authorship.

[0043] The system may include an additional step of collection of a feefrom the customer either before, during or after the reproductionprocess. The fee may be collected in cash, electronically, using acredit or debit card, or some other method of payment.

[0044] Upon verification of the data or textual information on theoriginal medium 80, in step 108, the system copies the work ofauthorship from the original medium 80 stored in memory 7 as digitaldata to the new medium 3 located in the digital data writing device 6.In step 110, the original medium 80 is transferred to the mediadestruction device 8 or the access blocking device 10, where theoriginal medium 80 is destroyed or access to the work of authorship onthe original medium 80 is blocked. The destruction may be accomplishedby breaking, crushing, scratching, melting, burning, sanding, pitting,cracking or any other method of destruction. Blocking access to the workof authorship may be accomplished by retaining the original medium 80 orsealing the original medium 80 in an impenetrable medium or in a mediumthe removal of which would cause the destruction of or damage to theoriginal medium 80.

[0045] In step 112, the system transfers the new medium 3 to a printer12 where the information stored in memory 7, i.e., regarding the work ofauthorship, including artist, writer, album, publisher and songinformation, is imprinted onto the new medium 3. An insert including thesame and/or additional information may also be printed by the printer 12and placed into a storage case 16. In step 114, the new medium 3 isinserted into the storage case 16 and dispensed to the customer. A thirdembodiment according to the present invention is shown in FIG. 5, whichdepicts a first medium to a second medium reproduction system where theoriginal work of authorship is reproduced on either the same or adifferent medium. The numbering for the similar components will remainthe same. The system includes a central processing unit 1 that controlsthe formatting and copying of a work of authorship from an originalmedium 130 to a new medium 132. The central processing unit 1 is coupledto a data reading device 134, for example, a phonograph or CD drive,that reads the data and information stored on the original medium 130 onwhich the work of authorship is stored, for example an LP or CD. Theinformation stored on the original medium 130 may include or uponpurchase be modified to include the date and location of purchase,vendor information, purchase price, artist and writer information, albumname, song list, publishing information, purchaser information, etc. Ananalog to digital converter 84 may be coupled to the data reading device134, and the central processing unit 1, and is used when the originalmedium is of an analog format to convert the analog data from theoriginal medium 130 to digital data for purposes of identificationand/or verification. The data read from the original medium 130 may beanalyzed to identify the work of authorship and/or to determine whetherit is an authentic copy of the work of authorship or for otherverification purposes. Where the original medium 130 is analog, thesystem, using text recognition software, may also read the informationcontained on the label of the original medium 130 (for purposes ofverification), covert it into digital data and store that information asdigital data in a memory 7. Such information may include artist andwriter information, album name, song list, publishing information, etc.Additionally, information from the original medium 130 in digital formatmay be stored in memory 7.

[0046] The central processing unit is also coupled to a local or remotedatabase 140 or memory 142 which may contain a full or partial catalogof works of authorship, including, for example, musical, film, literary,photographic, pictorial, graphical, artistic, and multimedia works, indigital or other format. The local or remote database 140 or memory 142and the central processing unit 1 are also coupled to a digital datawriting drive 6, for example, a CD-RW drive, and it controls the copyingof the work of authorship from the local or remote database 140 ormemory 142, upon identification and/or verification of the work ofauthorship based on the information stored on the original medium 130 orthe information from the label of the original medium 130, to the newmedium 132 using the digital data writing drive 6. Alternatively oradditionally, the system may store or buffer the digital data comprisingthe work of authorship in memory 7 during and/or prior to reproductionof the work of authorship by copying from the local or remote database140 or memory 142 to the memory 7.

[0047] In this third embodiment according to the present invention thework of authorship is reproduced on either the same or a different mediatype than the original medium 130. Along with the work of authorship,additional information may be transferred to the new medium 132,including all of the information included on the original medium 130 orlabel of the original medium 130, after it is converted into digitaldata. This information may be transferred directly from the originalmedium 130 or from the memory 7. Additionally, new information may beadded to the new medium 132, including information relating to the dateof reproduction, price paid, customer information, vendor information,quality of original medium 130, status of original medium 130, etc.

[0048] The system also includes a media destruction device 8 or accessprevention device 86 which prevents use of the original medium 130 uponreproduction of the work of authorship on the new medium 132 bydestroying the original medium 130 or preventing access to the work ofauthorship contained on the original medium 130.

[0049] The system may also include a printer 12 or labeler 14, coupledto the central processing unit 1, for imprinting the new medium 132with, or creating labels to be attached to the new medium 132 thatinclude, information relating to the work of authorship. Thisinformation may include artist and writer information, album and songinformation, publisher information, etc. The printer 12 may also printinserts, which may include information relating to the work ofauthorship, to be included in a storage case 16 dispensed with, andwhich is used to store, the new medium 132.

[0050] The system may include a database 18 that stores informationrelating to each transaction, i.e., reproduction of a work ofauthorship, including customer information, work of authorshipinformation, location and temporal information, etc., and/or maytransmit such information to a local or remote location 20 or depository22 (as close as a different adjacent computer or room, or even adifferent memory device located in the same black-box or a differentsection of the same memory device).

[0051] The method according to the third embodiment of the presentinvention is shown in the flow diagram of FIG. 6. In step 150, thecustomer places the original medium 130, a CD or an LP, in the datareading device 134. In step 152, the data is read from the originalmedium 130, in step 154, the data may be converted from analog todigital, and in step 155, the digital data is stored in the memory 7. Instep 156, the data from the original medium 130 is checked to determinethe nature of the work of authorship. The information included on thelabel of the original medium 130 may also be read using text recognitionsoftware and analyzed for purposes of identification of the work ofauthorship, and verifying information relating to the work ofauthorship. For example, the system may only be operable for embodimentsoriginating from the U.S., or only from particular sources.

[0052] Alternatively or additionally, the system may include a steprequiring the customer to view information or respond to queries, or maycollect information from the customer during the reproduction process inexchange for the right to reproduce the work of authorship or for areduction in or elimination of the cost for reproduction of the work ofauthorship. The information stored in memory 7 and/or the collectedinformation or data regarding the viewed information or responses to thequeries may be transferred to the local or remote database 140 or memory142 immediately or stored for a later transfer. The information storedin memory 7 and/or the collected information may also be provided to theowner of the work of authorship or the owner of the rights to the workof authorship in exchange for the right to reproduce the work ofauthorship.

[0053] The system may include an additional step of collection of a feefrom the customer, either before, during or after the reproductionprocess. The fee may be collected in cash, electronically, using acredit or debit card, or some other method of payment.

[0054] Upon verification of the data or textual information on theoriginal medium 130, in step 158, the system copies the work ofauthorship from the original medium 130 stored in memory 7 as digitaldata to the new medium 3 located in the digital data writing device 6.In step 160, the original medium 130 is transferred to the mediadestruction device 8 or the access blocking device 10, where theoriginal medium 130 is destroyed or access to the work of authorship onthe original medium 130 is blocked. The destruction may be accomplishedby breaking, crushing, scratching, melting, burning, sanding, pitting,cracking or any other method of destruction. Blocking access to the workof authorship may be accomplished by retaining the original medium 130or sealing the original medium 130 in an impenetrable medium or in amedium the removal of which would cause the destruction of or damage tothe original medium 130.

[0055] In step 162, the system transfers the new medium 3 to a printer12 where the information stored in memory 7, i.e., regarding the work ofauthorship, including artist, writer, album, publisher and songinformation, is imprinted onto the new medium 3. An insert including thesame and/or additional information may also be printed by the printer 12and placed into a storage case 16. In step 164, the new medium 3 isinserted into the storage case 16 and dispensed to the customer.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for reproducing an original copy of awork of authorship, comprising: a microprocessor; a database coupled tothe microprocessor; a data input device coupled to the microprocessor,wherein the microprocessor processes information received from the datainput device, identifies information in the database corresponding tothe information received from the data input device, and authorizes areproduction of a work of authorship; and a data writing device coupledto the microprocessor, the data writing device reproducing the work ofauthorship.
 2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the data inputdevice is a bar code scanner.
 3. The system according to claim 1,wherein the data input device is a keyboard.
 4. The system according toclaim 1, wherein the data input device is a CD reader.
 5. The systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the data input device is a DVD reader. 6.The system according to claim 1, wherein the data writing device is a CDwriter.
 7. The system according to claim 1, wherein the data writingdevice is a DVD writer.
 8. The system according to claim 1, furthercomprising a device for preventing access to the original copy of thework of authorship.
 9. A method for reproducing an original copy of awork of authorship, comprising the steps of: processing informationreceived from a data input device relating to authentication of a workof authorship; identifying information in a database corresponding tothe information received from the data input device; determining whetheran authorization for reproduction of the work of authorship should begranted; and if authorization is granted, reproducing the work ofauthorship.
 10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the work ofauthorship is reproduced on the same type of medium as the original copyof the work of authorship.
 11. The method according to claim 9, whereinthe data input device is at least one of a bar code scanner and akeyboard.
 12. The method according to claim 9, wherein the data inputdevice is at least one of a CD reader and a DVD reader.
 13. The methodaccording to claim 9, further comprising the step of modifying theoriginal copy of the work of authorship to prevent access to theoriginal copy of the work of authorship.
 14. The method according toclaim 9, wherein the work of authorship is reproduced on a differentmedium than the original copy of the work of authorship.
 15. The methodaccording to claim 9, wherein the determination as to whether anauthorization for reproduction of the work of authorship should begranted is based on a verification of at least one of the authenticityof the original work of authorship and the purchase of the original workof authorship.
 16. A method for generating revenues from the reproducingof an original copy of a work of authorship, comprising the steps of:processing information relating to authorization for reproducing theoriginal copy of the work of authorship; processing information relatingto a submission of a fee; upon confirmation of authorization andsubmission of the fee, reproducing the work of authorship.
 17. Themethod according to claim 16, wherein the authorization for reproducingthe original copy of the work of authorship is based on at least one ofthe authenticity of the copy of the original work of authorship and thepurchase of the original work of authorship.
 18. A method for generatingadditional revenues from the sale of original copies of a work ofauthorship, comprising the steps of: offering to cover at least one ofthe risk of damage and the risk of loss of the original copy of the workof authorship; and accepting the payment of a fee in exchange forcovering at least one of the risk of damage and the risk of loss of theoriginal copy of the work of authorship.
 19. The method according toclaim 18, further comprising the step of providing a copy of the work ofauthorship upon a submission indicating at least one of damage to andloss of the original copy of the work of authorship.
 20. The methodaccording to claim 18, further comprising the step of providing a copyof the work of authorship upon payment of the fee.